ed in Belgium,
Holland and France.

LV. THE FORTUNE TELLER. (218)

Henry Mackenzie, 1745-1831, was born in Edinburgh, educated at the
university there, and died in the same city. He was an attorney by
profession, and was the associate of many famous literary men residing at
that time in Edinburgh. His fame as a writer rests chiefly on two novels,
"The Man of Feeling" and "The Man of the World;" both were published
before the author was forty years old.
###

Harley sat down on a large stone by the wayside, to take a pebble from his
shoe, when he saw, at some distance, a beggar approaching him. He had on a
loose sort of coat, mended with different-colored rags, among which the
blue and russet were predominant. He had a short, knotty stick in his
hand, and on the top of it was stuck a ram's horn; he wore no shoes, and
his stockings had entirely lost that part of them which would have covered
his feet and ankles; in his face, however, was the plump appearance of
good humor; he walked a good, round pace, and a crook-legged dog trotted
at his heels.

"Our delicacies," said Harley to himself, "are fantastic; they are not in
nature! That beggar walks over the sharpest of these stones barefooted,
whilst I have lost the most delightful dream in the world from the
smallest of them happening to get into my shoe." The beggar had by this
time come up, and, pulling off a piece of a hat, asked charity of Harley.
The dog began to beg, too. It was impossible to resist both; and, in
truth, the want of shoes and stockings had made both unnecessary, for
Harley had destined sixpence for him before.

The beggar, on receiving it, poured forth blessings without number; and,
with a sort of smile on his countenance, said to Harley that if he wanted
to have his fortune told--Harley turned his eye briskly upon the beggar;
it was an unpromising look for the subject of a prediction, and silenced
the prophet immediately. "I would much rather learn" said Harley, "what it
is in your power to tell me. Your trade must be an entertaining one; sit
down on this stone, and let me know something of your profession; I have
often thought of turning fortune teller for a week or two, myself."

"Master," replied the beggar, "I like your frankness much, for I had the
humor of plain dealing in me from a child; but there is no doing with it
in this world,--we must do as we can; and lying is, as you call it, my
profession. But I was in some sort forced to